Melbourne crowned Most Liveable City for the seventh year in a row

For a record seventh consecutive year, Melbourne has been ranked the World’s Most Liveable City by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Melbourne achieved the highest score of 97.5 out of 100, (unchanged from 2016) with perfect scores for healthcare, education and infrastructure. While Sydney dropped down the ranks from seventh place to eleventh.

“No city in the world has topped the EIU’s Liveability Index for seven consecutive years in its own right,” the Lord Mayor Robert Doyle AC said.

“This world record is an amazing feat that all Melburnians should be extremely proud of today.

In 2017, Melbourne achieved a score of 97.5: 95 for stability, 95.1 for culture and environment and perfect 100 scores for healthcare, education and infrastructure. The 2016 scores were identical.

Adelaide came in fifth place, followed by Perth at seventh place, and Sydney coming in at eleventh.

Overall, the top five cities were Melbourne, followed by Vienna, Austria and then the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto. Adelaide was rated equal fifth most liveable city, tied with Calgary, Canada.

The EIU report highlighted that the ongoing threat of terrorism globally continues to have a negative impact on the liveability of cities. Melbourne’s relatively low crime rate was one of the main reasons that it outranked other high performing cities.

According to the report, the top ranking cities are able to “foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure” and that despite a perceived increase in crime, they “continue to boast lower violent and petty crime rates than the rest of the world.”

“There will always be naysayers and whingers, and of course we are not perfect. No great world city is, but we should be very proud of the work we all do together to make Melbourne the best city in the world,” the Lord Mayor said.

“We do not take this title for granted and work constantly to ensure we are protecting and enhancing our liveability for future generations.

“With innovation and progression brings disruption and we are seeing that now in Melbourne with many major, necessary projects underway including Melbourne Metro and the Queen Victoria Market Renewal Project.”